Of sunny days and pouring rain
by Jawira707
Summary: A series of one-shots about Shinichi and Ran in summer. What more to say? Lots of fluff! Enjoy! :) All rights belong to Gosho Aoyama.
1. Love is burning

Hello everyone! This is the first story I'm posting here and also my first story in english. I hope there aren't too many mistakes in here and I'm grateful to everyone who gives me a hint. Reviews would be great.

 _1.) Love is burning_

„Shinichi!", Ran shouted for what felt like the twentieth time in an hour, but the young detective just wouldn't listen to her.

He and the football team of the Teitan High school were playing an important match on the weekend and as their victory could already decide the final they were practicing extra hard now. Shinichi was an excellent player and Ran could see that his coach was content with him, because he was smiling at the boy and patted him on the shoulder a few times. It was incredibly hot today so they had started their training early in the morning to not suffer too much from the afternoon heat, but then more and more players from the junior team had arrived hoping they would be chosen over a senior player on Sunday, for example for Akiyama who still was unable to play because of an injury. Naturally, Shinichi had volunteered to help with the test games and- good-hearted as he was-he didn't even care about taking a break or eating. Ran had joined them at two a clock, watching the boys from the border of the field. She looked at her watch: It was already 4:30 p.m., that just couldn't be healthy!

"Shinichi, come over here and help Maro with his penalties … they are still…you know what I mean!", his coach called out and Shinichi still totally exhausted from a long dribbling session, pushed himself up again and walked somewhat slowly to the goal.

This idiot, she thought, why can't he give him a break? She searched Shinichi's eyes and waved what caused him to smile at her, but she wasn't tricked that easily. His face was paler than usually and it seemed hard for him to focus. Unsure of what to do, Ran looked around and remarked a little bell on the substitute's bench which had to belong to the team. Brave as she was, she quickly took it away and rang it a few times. As an immediate result everyone stopped in their tracks waiting for an announcement to come.

"Short break!", she shouted earning grateful looks from all the sides except from the coach who was staring angrily at her. "I'm sorry!", she stated while the boys were reaching for their water bottle, drinking thirstily or spilling cold water over their arms and heads. But soon she remarked that someone was missing or at least wasn't refreshing himself a bit like he was supposed to. Shinichi was still leaning against the goal frame, his breath coming out in racks so that she was really starting to worry now .

"Shinichi?", she ran towards him and reached out for his shoulders to get his attention. "Wh-what is it?", he asked weakly letting her take his hand to guide him to the others. "N-no…let me stay…" "Don't be stupid", she scolded him, "it's way cooler in the shadow and you need to drink something…" The young man shook his head and held her hand even tighter. "I…I'm just quite dizzy right now…", he brought out still trying to stabilize himself. It only took seconds for Ran to wrap her arms tightly around Shinichi and soon he was leaning into her with all his weight. She couldn't help blushing a bit because of the sudden body contact as she rubbed his back in a soothing motion. "See, you're already dehydrated", she said to him while tracing the burning skin of his pale arms with her fingers which made him moan slightly; this kind of touch felt incredibly good and really helped to relax him a bit. I'm so lucky to have her, he thought hoping she wouldn't break the contact. "Come on Shinichi", he heard her say again and they began to walk slowly towards the shadow of the trees.

Of course their little embrace had attired the attention of the others who were whispering quite loudly as the couple approached. "Hey buddy, what's wrong?" A boy with short brown hair seemed to have understood the situation and took Shinichi's other arm to walk him safely to the benches. "Aren't you Maro?" Ran asked him. "Yes, that's me; I'm a striker like Shinichi but not as a good one of course. Is he sick or something?" Gently they let Shinichi down even though Ran kept him close to her in fear he still could fall down somehow. "I think he has just overdone it a bit…can you bring us some water?" Maro nodded coming back with a glass, a bottle and a black bag. "Here you are. This belongs to Shinichi. ", he pointed at the mentioned bag, "I thought he might need it. Hope you feel better soon, buddy. I tell the coach what happened, okay?" "Thanks", Shinichi whispered, taking a high- five from his friend before he leaned into Ran again who held a filled glass to his lips.

"Drink", she ordered and so he did. It was an amazing sensation to feel the cold liquid enter his body and it brought him relief almost immediately. Nevertheless, his head still hurt and he was worrying about the reaction of his coach which had trusted him so much lately. He really didn't want to let him down. Suddenly, the boy felt something cold on his forehead which made him flinch in surprise. Ran had spilled a bit of water on her handkerchief and now was wiping his forehead as if she knew exactly where it hurt. "You are such a stubborn idiot, you know. You just never, ever take care of yourself", she mumbled, but shut up as she saw the look in his ocean blue eyes. His gaze was so full of love and gratefulness that she felt her own breath stop for a moment. Absently her hand wandered through his hair. His beautiful hair…

"I bet you also have a sunburn", Ran said pulling herself out of her reverie. "Did you use any sun protection?" He nodded and motioned at his bag. "I used some before training", he said, but Ran seemed to be unconvinced. "That was at least 7 hours ago, show me your neck…" Shinichi cooperated and put his head down to expose his neck which was turning light red already. "You are burned, I knew it. That must really hurt…", Ran commented worried. "It's actually not that bad.", he answered. "And your shoulders?", she probed. Not thinking clearly Shinichi just shrugged and reached for his shirt, ready to pull it over his head. "It's getting quite hot in here", a voice from behind them stated chuckling while Ran was staring at Shinichi in shock. She had to stop him! What was he thinking? Ran slapped him hard on his arm to stop him in his motion. "Are you crazy?" Shinichi looked at her in a confused manner and she realized that he had meant nothing at all. "I'm sorry.", he apologized while rubbing his arm. "No…", Ran could feel she was blushing again, "I'm sorry. Your sunburn must be a bit worse than I thought." "You're probably right", Shinichi agreed suddenly realizing what he just had been about to do. "I got some cream for it in my bag", he said and soon Ran got it for him. " "Can you put it on my neck?", he asked innocently, tilting his head down again. Ran smiled at his boldness and put some cream on her hands. "You're lucky, you're so cute", she stated starting to rub his neck softly. "What?" O my god, I said that loud. "Nothing!" Maybe she was getting a sunburn too…


	2. Of mysteries and love letters, part I

Hello there! Thanx for all the nice reviews, for the ones who gave me a fav for this story and also everyone who decided to follow! Finally, I have another chapter to post and as you waited that long it will be a two shot this time. First part today, second tomorrow! Again, I'm sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes and again I'm happy about every comment you leave me. Enjoy.

 _2.) Of mysteries and love letters, Part 1_

"…And then Watson figured out that Holmes had done it all on purpose! For example the writing mistake…if he wouldn't have got the time wrong, he would never have been able to get a sample of the handwriting from the culprit that easily! What a genius, isn't he?" Ran nodded absently. Why everything had to be always about Sherlock Holmes? Of course she also had her obsessions with karate or a new pop band, but in Shinichi's case his fixation on a certain topic was that extreme that she was sure, he wouldn't realise it, when she would leave him alone right now, standing in the hallway and talking to the wall instead of a real person. Exaggerating? No, she was quite sure, she was right.

"Shinichi!"… "His deduction showed, that two persons had to be involved…One the father and…you know who the other person was, don't you? " He gave her a bright smile, which was somehow adorable and incredibly irritating at the same time. "Shinichi, I wanted to ask, if we shouldn't be heading to chemistry class now?" Ran started another try while Shinichi continued to walk in the completely wrong direction. "…Yes, exactly. His son. It's oblivious…" She rolled her eyes at his self-absorbed behaviour. Where was he going anyway? She was a very patient person which was proved by her living alone with her messy, half of the time drunken father. But enough was enough. Taking some quick steps forward, she stood in front of him and grabbed his shoulders. "STOP-RIGHT-NOW!" she screamed, shaking him pretty violently. "Hey, hey, calm down! Let go!" he protested trying to push her away. "Why the heck are you attacking me like this!?" Perfect, now he was angry with her. "What other possibility did I have? You just wouldn't listen!" Shinichi just shook his head in annoyance. "I did listen to you!" Ran was having a hard time to prevent herself from slapping him directly across his stubborn face. "You didn't! All you care about is solving mysteries, you freak!" Silence. Shinichi's eyes were widened slightly as if he had just seen her for the first time and couldn't believe who she really was. Ran had frozen in her movements, still ignorant of what she had done or said. "A freak?" It was an effort for him to hide the tremble in his voice, but he succeeded. "N-no, Shinichi, I didn't mean it like that…" Ran tried to save the situation, but what exactly had she meant? "I really didn't want to hurt your feelings, but sometimes it's hard for me to get through to you…" She could tell he didn't believe her. Nevertheless he forced a smile on his face, shrugging his shoulders as if he didn't care. "Alright, it doesn't matter. Sorry for not listening to you." She smiled back to him and looked at her watch. "We really should hurry up!", she stated and this time he followed her to the right classroom. She reached out for his hand, but he didn't respond while his thoughts were running wild in his mind. What if he was forcing himself on her again? What if she really thought he was crazy?

 **The next day:**

"Sonoko, what shall I do!?", Ran asked her friend as they waited in a row in front of the shopping mall in Beika district where a new shoe collection had been announced for today. "He's still mad at me, I feel it!" Sonoko looked at her sceptically. "Ran, don't you think you are overreacting? He seemed fine talking to you earlier and probably has already forgotten about your little fight." Unconvinced, Ran shook her head. "It's not that he's angry, it's…it's like he doesn't trust me anymore…" "Why do you think so?" "He hasn't talked to me about anything important to him, like a new book, a new case or football…this morning he just asked if I'm fine and something about the homework."

She was interrupted by her friend's laughter which soon managed to get the attention of various passengers on the two girls. "Sonoko! Be quiet! What's so funny anyway?" The other girl gave her a glance full of disbelieve and amusement. "Do you listen to yourself? So your husband…"- "His name is Shinichi!"- "Yeah, whatever, if Kudo doesn't talk about one of his fabulous cases at least once a day, he must be upset? This isn't bad, Ran, it's a miracle! You can't really want to hear about all that crimes every day. Maybe he has finally understood that there are other important things in life instead of playing detective…for example getting himself a girlfriend!" Ran's face got all red at her words. "Sonoko…he doesn't…he isn't just playing detective!" she saved herself quickly trying to stop blushing that badly.

Her friend grinned at her. "Sure? He might be clever, but just remember all his special moves he makes when solving a case…" Sonoko lifted her hand like she was observing an imaginary paper in the sunlight. "There!" she screamed. "That's the proof!" She made a gesture like she was throwing the paper away in a dramatic way which made Ran laugh. She looked ridiculous. "Don't laugh I'm serious!" she acted on. "You are the culprit and this has to be emphasized with my finger pointing at you." "What did I do?" Ran said playfully raising her arms. "I don't know, but it was surely illegal. Luckily a great detective like me was there in time to prevent you from doing it again" Sonoko finished clapping herself on the back. "How was it?" Ran chuckled. "Not bad, you got him quite well!" She was in a much better mood now as they now finally could enter the mall. How could she have realized the young man who unwillingly had listened to every word of their conversation while waiting in front of the neighboured book store? And just how much it had affected him?

"Sorry, Mister?" he was addressed by the young woman next to him. "You are feeling alright? You have gotten pale all suddenly!" Shinichi just shook his head. "It's okay", he mumbled putting his money back in his jacket. All his thoughts had become a maze of confusion. He didn't know what he felt, but it definitively wasn't okay.

 **At the Kudo mansion:**

Shinichi was sitting in the library hoping to find some peace and comfort in his Sherlock Holmes novels, but found himself unable to concentrate because of all the questions running through his troubled mind. How did his friendship with Ran could have ended up like this? Was Ran really interested in what he was telling her or just acting like she was?

You know she likes you, he thought, desperately trying to forget about today's event, but as much as he wanted to believe himself, he couldn't help wondering if this was true. Shinichi always had been a loner and therefore never had been known for his many friends. In school the boys would admire him and stay friendly because they needed his help for homework what he had accepted quickly.

"You're sort of crazy, Kudo", they would say to him, "you're not only smart, but out of this world" and he would smile at the compliment even though he sometimes wished to be considered as one of them, as normal. With Ran it had been different. Restless as he was he went over to his shelves and opened the top drawer in which he stored his most important things including a photo album of Ran and him with pictures taken since they were in kindergarten. Lost in thought and memory he gently traced the old pages with his fingers, remembering all the happy moments they had together. She was his harbour, his security and much more than she could probably imagine: He admired her beauty, her sense for justice and good- hearted personality and longed to be close to her. When his parents left him on their trip to America, she had been there for him and every time he had reached out his hand he had been sure to feel their fingers connect. Did she feel the same? Or was she annoyed most of time? Everybody's changing, a voice in his head whispered, maybe you need to change as well. And for her, he would.

"Hello!? Someone at home?" a deep voice startled the young detective who hadn't realized a person had been knocking on the front door for about two minutes. "Shinichi, please answer!" it called again and so he got up and opened the door not really in the mood to speak to anyone right now.

"Hey there, Professor Agasa.", he greeted not realizing the angry face of his old friend which expression soon changed into a concerned one at the sight of his young fellow. "Shinichi, I've been knocking for ages! You didn't hear me!?" "No, I'm sorry", he answered, his voice filled with a certain sadness and exhaustion as he let the professor enter the house. "Want do you want?" he then asked directly surprising the old man once more. Normally, Shinichi talked a lot more and somehow it seemed that he avoided looking him in the eyes. "I just wanted to get the book back you borrowed from me last week, you know the…" "I know which one, wait a moment." he answered quickly and left the professor standing alone in the entrance hall.

Something is strange, he thought and made his way into the library only to find an even rarer sight inside. A Sherlock Holmes book was lying on the table and as it was Shinichi's most precious one he couldn't believe it was placed there still open in a careless manner. And wasn't that a photo album on the coach?

"I got it!", Shinichi exclaimed running down the stairs and waving with the said novel. "Here. Thanks for lending." Ignorant of his old friends worried glance he handed it over to him and put a hand on his back pushing him slightly in the direction of the door. Shinichi was indeed chucking him out!

"Son, son…"he tried to stop him. "What's wrong with you?" "Nothing", the boy answered a bit too quickly to be convincing. "I-I'm just busy." he added still trying to move towards the exit, but Agasa turned around and grabbed his shoulders.

"Come on, look at me", he begged and after a moment of hesitation the younger one lifted his head, revealing his deep blue eyes which were shimmering dark with emotion. A bit taken aback from this the professor did let go of him, nevertheless he stayed close.

"What happened?" Shinichi wanted to say nothing, but he just couldn't get the words out therefore he just shook his head weakly. He felt the hand of his old friend on his forehead, certainly feeling for a fever. "Someone hurt you, Shinichi?" the old man asked again, trying to get the truth out of him. Still there was no answer.

Not knowing how to help he tried to pull the boy into a hug, hoping to be able to comfort him, but as soon as he touched his back Shinichi pushed him aside. "I- I can't right now.", he stated, angrily rubbing his hands over his eyes. He didn't know how much longer he could prevent the tears from falling. "I need to be alone…please…" he motioned to the door again. "Please just leave."

The message couldn't get any clearer. "All right," Agasa said still more than concerned, "But call me this evening, okay." The other nodded in agreement while the old man stepped out of the door, then he turned around once more. It was visible that he felt guilty about leaving.

"You know I'm always there for you, yes?" Shinichi's expression softened at this.

"I know", he said, but at the inside he didn't believe that this time anyone than himself could fix this.

 _And cut! What do you think? What will happen to Shinichi and Ran? And extra points for you if you tell me which Holmes case Shinichi was talking about at the beginning!_


	3. Of mysteries and love letters, part II

Second part, my friends! (sorry, I know i wanted to post it yesterday...la,la,la...)

 _3.) Of mysteries and love letters, Part 2_

"Dad, I'm home!" Ran was in a great mood as she arrived at home this evening. The shopping trip had blown away all her worries and she felt more than satisfied with herself and her new beautiful pair of shoes. Nothing could ruin this day except for…*Ring*Ring* Surprised about the late phone call she lifted the receiver.

"Ran Mori, hello?" "Good evening, Ran, I'm sorry to disturb you that late, but…" It was the voice of professor Agasa who actually never had called her before. "It's alright, professor. I just came home. What can I do for you?" There was awkward pause and Ran started to wonder what happened. "It's not really about me, but about Shinichi…" Oh no. There was it again, that bad feeling she had tried to suppress the whole day. "What's wrong with Shinichi?" she asked quickly. "See…" the old man took some time to clear his throat, "I visited him earlier and he seemed…pretty distressed. He wouldn't talk to me…" Oh God, I bet that's all about our fight, she thought. What have I done? On the other hand Shinichi was such as strong person that it was unlikely for him to take something like this that serious or was she wrong? "…I called him again, but couldn't get anything out of him neither. So I wanted to ask you if you have any idea what's the matter with him." Something else must have happened, Ran tried to convince herself while thinking of what in the world could have shocked or upset Shinichi Kudo somehow. "Wait a moment, I'm gonna think about it", she answered while remembering the detective skills Shinichi tried to teach her now and then. One need to observe, one need to find out as much as possible about the victim's past…! "Prof. Agasa, do you have any idea which plans Shinichi had for today?" "Hmmm…He went to school and came home quite early…I think he wanted to go to the new book store near the moonlight street to buy a new book about some crime history facts. But maybe he didn't go there at all." "Why do you think so?" she wondered. "If he would have gotten the book I'm sure he would have shown it to me immediately! He had been praising it for weeks. " Ran tried to come to any conclusion , but she couldn't make herself a rime out of it.

Completely at a loss, she said goodbye to Agasa, changed and then went to bed, but as she had expected she wasn't able to sleep. Shinichi…the moonlight street…a store…wasn't that next to the shopping mall in Beika?…she wasn't sure…she wasn't to blame…he's upset…she was sorry she called him a freak…some people thought like this…but not her…Sonoko maybe…he just was a bit different in a good way…exactly… slowly she drifted to dreamland…sure, she would find out tomorrow…one need to be quiet…one need to observe… "NO!" she exclaimed, sitting up immediately as the realization hit her like a lightning bolt. He couldn't have seen….and worse heard that… "I'm so stupid!", Ran scolded herself while grabbing her hair in frustration. What must he think? That she hated him, that she did never take him seriously? "I'm so sorry, Shinichi, so incredibly sorry", she mumbled, repeating the phrase over and over as if he was in the room and she already pleading for forgiveness. But would he believe her this time? If she was in his place, she wasn't sure if she would.

 **The next morning, at school:**

All night Shinichi had tried to sort out his emotions and to prepare himself for seeing Ran in the morning, but it was truly difficult to really perform his plan even though it sounded quite simple: Don't let her realize you're hurt or angry at her, act normal (which meant talking, but not about anything connected to his detective work) and try to make her talk more about what she was interested in. Finally: Don't correct others or annoy them with too many facts. Easy, no? His eyes wandered to the nearby window from where his reflection stared back to him with a fake smile and an expression which screamed that he would rather be anywhere else but here. This was a disaster. More effort Shinichi, he told himself, aren't you supposed to be the son of a great actress? "Hey, Kudo!", someone punched him lightly in the arm and instantly he knew who it was. "Hello Tanaka." he said friendly, but as he started to look around more attentive now, he realized he was surrounded by at least fifteen other classmates who were clearly visible waiting for a show to start. Great. It couldn't get worse. "I read something about a bank raid this morning. You sure have heard about it?" Shinichi nodded hoping to get the crowd bored as fast as possible. Sadly, Tanaka seemed eager to discuss the topic making it hard for him to constantly mime disinterest. "I think the culprit has to be that thief who stole the jewels at the orient exhibition last month. Would be likely, no?" Shinichi smiled at him which was a rare gesture for his character in general, but it gave him the necessary time to think about what for heaven's sake he should answer. Said thief was in prison and also injured what made it impossible for him to be the culprit who had been seen running through several streets before getting into the getaway car. "Shinichi?" Oh damn. "Hm?" "You're scaring us all a little with that look on your face. You're okay man?" Irritated he shook his head to get rid of the grimace he was wearing. "Yes, I'm fine. Sorry. I think…" That hurts, he thought, it hurts to even think those words. "I think your idea could be right. Maybe, it is him." There was the smile again and this time it was worse because Tanaka himself wore the most satisfied smirk he had ever seen in his life. "…Or maybe not." Shinichi added quietly, letting out a long breath he had been holding. "Who was it then?", another boy asked curiously. "Yeah Kudo, what's your opinion on this case?" He realized that Tanaka – who was slightly disappointed that he hadn't fully agreed to his theory- and the others were attiring more and more attention and if he wasn't imagining it they were coming closer by second. He raised his hand in defence signalising they should stay away, but nobody seemed to care. "I don't know.", Shinichi finally announced loudly which was followed by a deadly silence. Some were staring at him with open mouths, some started to whisper intensely with their neighbours and if the teacher wouldn't have entered the room, Shinichi was sure, he would have tried to climb out of the window to escape their gaping.

Ran had entered the room at the same time as Mrs. Hibari, her eyes had searching for Shinichi immediately. He was looking down and seemed quite uncomfortable which had to be a result of various people whispering and pointing shamelessly in his direction. "You missed everything! "she was told by a girl in the row in front of her. "Kudo acted all strange. Seems like he has lost his genius overnight…" "Be quiet!" the teacher warned the class resulting in Masami turning to the board again leaving Ran with more questions than she had had before. She would have to speak with Shinichi after the lesson provided that they could get some time alone… No, she couldn't wait! "Mrs. Hibari" Ran said while raising her hand. "What's the matter, Mori?" "It's hard for me to concentrate because of the stale air in here…Can I please sit down over there next to the window?" Mrs. Hibari looked a bit surprised, but gave her agreement to her student's wish. Trying to hide her happiness Ran grabbed her things and went over to Shinichi's table, taking place on the empty chair next to him. "Hey there", she greeted him and pulled out a little paper. "Write down here." Hello, Shinichi scribbled, you're clever. Ran smiled at him, but he could no longer hide his depression. Tell me what's wrong, she wrote hoping Shinichi would mention himself what he had heard yesterday, but this wasn't the case. Nothing is wrong, he answered instead, you have any plans for today? No, she wrote down, you have a new case? Shinichi looked at her in disbelief. Was she making fun of him? He shook his head and put the pencil away looking down again in expiration. Under the table Ran slowly reached out for his hand and this time he accepted the contact. Nevertheless it felt different to her, something was missing. And that something was trust.

 **Three days later, Monday:**

"Look, there's the lucky one!" Shinichi was once again confused as he entered the classroom and was greeted by lots of grinning faces. The last days hadn't been easy for him but slowly it got better. Ran and he had spent more time together, going to a karate event and walking home after school. But still he didn't need another drama right now. Sighing he approached his desk which appeared to be the focus of the others attention. "What's that?", he wondered as he discovered a little letter and a …flower on his table. Oh joy, he really hoped for it not to be some silly joke. "It's a love letter!" some girl exclaimed with glee as he carefully took the items in his hands while her friends were giggling like mad. "Open it!" a boy demanded what of course was the last thing Shinichi would have done in front of the whole class. Ignoring the disappointed moans of the others, he grabbed his things and left, heading directly to the boys bathrooms, cause seriously, where else could he go to be truly alone? "Romance pure", Shinichi smiled while entering one of the cabins and placing his bag on the toilet seat. He realized his heart was pounding louder than normally and a little hope started to fill his thoughts as he managed to open the letter. Please, let it be her…

 _Dear Shinichi:_

" _To be or not to be that's the question here._

 _You just find what you want to see_

 _What's truly bright and clear_

 _After all the efforts done, stop searching with your mind._

 _First intentions, you an me_

 _Don't let your heart be blind."_

No address, no signature. But at least an interesting quiz, Shinichi thought excited as he read the words several times without truly getting the sense of it. But wasn't this also about love? His eyes wandered to the beautiful pink chrysanthemum in his hands. The petals were slightly wet and the flower stalk felt still solid what lead him to the conclusion that it hadn't been bought earlier than yesterday evening. "How mysterious", he said to himself, "I like that." And the mystery had just begun.

On Tuesday, he received no letter, but a blue hydrangea which had a wonderful, sweet scent and made him blush slightly as he first touched its beautiful blossom. "Why do you never give me something like that? It's so cute!" Masumi was arguing with her boyfriend as he saw Shinichi's present and she wasn't the only jealous girl. "What do you think about his?", Shinichi asked Ran at lunchtime not really hoping for an answer. "I don't know. You're the detective here", she answered and smiled as he started to take out his notes he had made concerning this case.

On Wednesday, it finally started to get more than extraordinary. "A white orchid, Kudo?" Tanaka exclaimed motioning at the noble flower on his seat. "Your secret admirer seems to have money, Mrs. Kudo!" Hirako joked while the other boys were joining his laughter. Money or just style, Shinichi thought smiling as he placed the flower carefully on the window-sill, but his classmate weren't done with their teasing. "Only girls get flowers, it's just not normal!" Tanaka stated what dismissed with shrug. "You think, my friend?" he answered, "In Victorian times and even earlier, it was usual to communicate through flower presents. They all had a different meaning and were used by men and women to tell the other what he or she felt for him or her…" He stopped in mid-sentence, clapping a hand over his mouth as he realized how easy this quiz had actually been. How could he have overlooked that fact that easily?

 **Thursday, at the Kudo mansion's library:**

"Hello!? Professor Agasa!" Shinichi was thrilled with joy as he entered the library where his old friend was already waiting for him. A worn book was lying on the table in front of him and the professor had already opened the important pages of it. "You got it? That's fantastic! We will figure it out in no time!" "Yes", Agasa replied relieved to see his boy happy once again. "It's the only book about the language of flowers I could find. Apropos flowers…which one was it today?" "A camellia", Shinichi answered, placing it on the table while starting to scan the pages with enthusiasm.

The next few minutes passed in absolute silence. Then suddenly: "I'm done", the young detective announced placing some notes in front of him while the professor was watching his actions. "The first flower was a chrysanthemum which stands for completion, infinity and the sunset. It could have a philosophical meaning or…whatever, I'm not sure. The second one was a hydrangea", he searched for the fitting passage in the book, then started to read out loud: "A hydrangea wants to say: "Thank you for understanding." Oh I wish, I would understand…" Completely taken with his work, he flicked though the book once more. "The Orchid is a flower who can grow everywhere. Just like love can overcome all obstacles. "Shinichi stopped for a short moment to admire the flower again whose name was the most beautiful by far*. It couldn't be coincidence that the symbolism fitted perfectly to the girl who occupied his thoughts all night.

The last flower had been a Camellia. "…it signifies harmony, elegance and friendship. The camellia is the last flower to lose its red petals in winter." Content with what he found out, Shinichi put the book down, but there were still so many questions left. Was there a certain order of the flowers? And what kind of hint was hidden in that letter on Monday? "That's all so complicated", he commented to professor Agasa who seemed quite amused by the teens trouble.

"Give it some time, Shinichi", he said, "I've got a question to ask you from inspector Megure…he needs you advice in that bank raid case." Shinichi nodded absently, still occupied with the message he received three days before. "Well, the funny thing about the case is that no money was stolen! They found the car of the thieves, but it was empty…also the banker said that there was nothing missing, but a little blue jewel. Strangely enough this diamond had been in a safe which the thieves didn't open at all…" – "You think I'm wrong about the flowers!?" the boy threw in closing the book and observing the paper in his hand. Professor Agasa gave him a reproachful glance. "Shinichi! Did you listen at all?" "I did, I did", he answered quickly, "the thieves just tried to distract the police from the essential while their accomplice stole the jewel. That also was my first intention when reading about it in the newspaper. I mean, which thief is so stupid to park his car two streets away from the bank? It's obvious that they wanted to be seen and be caught a bit later…" He read the lines over and over. "That's simple, but this!" he waved with the letter, "isn't!" "Maybe Holmes, you should use you own methods", Professor Agasa said pointing at the fifth line of the poem. "What were you first attentions when you first read those lines?" Shinichi frowned while thinking about it. His first intentions…? "First I wondered who would send me a letter without a signature or anything else. How can I ever answer the writer? Besides, I found it strange that it was actually written in English, especially with the Shakespeare quote at the beginning…" lost in thought his eyes followed the order of the flowers. But maybe…"Professor!" he called out, "maybe we are supposed to pronounce the flowers in English and out **first** intention means we only have to take the **first** letter of every word, that's good…" Shinichi wrote the names down, than isolated the important parts. "What's wrong?" Agasa asked as he see the detectives smile vanish at the sight of his final result. "Choc", he answered. "What?" "Yeah, exactly what is that supposed to mean?! " The old scientist gave him an irritated look. "Sure it's just Japanese, written with the help of the phonetic alphabet…" "But professor…", Shinichi answered, "Such a word did never exist!"

 **Friday evening, a park in Beika city:**

Oh, I hope he figured it out, thought Ran Mori who was wearing a blue skirt and a yellow blouse, was standing under the biggest cherry tree of the park. The blossoms were moving in the wind, falling down now and then like colourful rain drops and nevertheless she couldn't fully enjoy it. The idea to create a mystery for her friend had come all suddenly at as she had now experience in this area, she hoped her hints had been well-placed and clear. Of course, there was still professor Agasa who had helped her with the preparation and had promised to put Shinichi on the right track if necessary, but was her rational friend really able to decode such an emotional message? "Ah!", she screamed out in surprise as someone behind her touched her shoulders and spinning around she was ready to fight.

"Calm down, it's me!" a young man dressed in casual white jeans and a blue shirt answered smiling while presenting her a bouquet of white roses he had been hiding behind his back. "Shinichi!" Ran exclaimed angry and relieved at the same time. "Why do you have to scare me like this?" He was still waving around with the flowers and finally she took them from him. "Sorry", he mumbled as she was admiring her present. "I didn't mean to ruin the mood, my lady", And smirking he gently placed a hand on Ran's arm. "All right. You're forgiven. But tell me", her eyes met his for the first time at this, "how did you figure out the quiz at last?" Shinichi, who of course had been waiting to be asked that exact question, pulled out his notes and showed them to her.

"It wasn't easy, I have to admit, but finally I got the trick: You need to use both; the order of the English flower names and their meaning. Actually, it's just an appointment card with three hints to be found. The time, the place and the person one's gonna meet there. The time was the easiest one: It was the day I received no flower which is today, Friday, and the information about the time of the day was given with the chrysanthemum who is a symbol for the sunset…" Ran observed happily how much fun Shinichi had while explaining his conclusions to her like she had to be convinced about their correctness.

"Well now we have the tempus, but where is the locus? The first letters of all the flower names give "C-H-O-C", what isn't a japanese word at all. Even if we change the order. Then I remembered that the camellia is the last flower to bloom and that it could stand for the ending of the word. Without the last "C", we have "CHOU" which means…" "Butterfly!", Ran threw in excited about her own quiz and how Shinichi solved it in his incomparable way. "Yes, but still I wasn't sure what to think. Not until I finally proved it were you who wrote these lines…" Ran frowned at this formulation, "You did already suspect me then?" "Of course! I really hoped it…it…", he stopped to hide his face in his hands felling himself blushing all over while Ran were getting bigger by second. "I mean, I just had the intention…I just felt that…"

Without a warning Ran had pulled him in a tight hug, startling him, before he gratefully returned the gesture, resting his hands on her back. He felt that she was shaking slightly as he buried his head in her brown, soft hair. "Shh…" he whispered, "hey don't cry…I'm here." Ran whose head was resting on Shinichi's chest lifted her head to look at his face and even though her eyes were shimmering with tears she wore a smile on her lips. "Shinichi, I'm so sorry about what you have to see at the mall. I really didn't mean to hurt you r feelings, because you're way too important to me, you know that?" she said, pulling him even tighter. "I do know, believe me I do. You are as important to me." he replied while breathing in the intoxicating scent of her hair. "It was me who acted childish and I'm sorry that I made you worry." She shook her head in disagreement. "It was understandable, but I didn't make that quiz just to apologize to you…" Ran leaned into him again, tilting her head towards the floor while talking. "It was important for me to show you that yes, you're special, but that's what I lo…like about you so much." She really hoped he couldn't see her face which was all red from embarrassment. "The passion you develop when solving a case is contagious. That's why I did let explain you my own mystery to me which I surely wouldn't have done if it would annoy me, would I?" Shinichi stared at her perplexed as she realized she was right. Why hadn't he realized that before? "Thanks for saying this. I just love talking about cases, but sometimes…" "Too much?" she purposed giggling, which he commented with a wide grin. "I try my very best, Ms. Sophie", he added quietly making her laugh once again.

"It's nice to stand here and watch the sunset." "Hai." "Shinichi?" "Hm?" "You are craving to explain to me how you figured out the quiz , aren't you?" A nod. "Then do it, I'm listening." "Really?" "Yes, maybe I find a mistake in your deduction."

She punched him playfully in the arm, but Shinichi had already started his speech: "Okay, so I thought if it was you, you must have hidden you name somewhere and as the fourth flower signalized the ending, the third could stand for the signature. Besides, the message was quite personal and so were the flowers…" at that he subconsciously squeezed her hand and finally it felt right to her again- "Therefore the place we both- "you and me"- should meet had to be linked to our friendship somehow. You gave me flowers which could mean that you wanted to indicate that it has to be somewhere in nature. And finally I understood…"

A sudden gust of wind touched the tree making some blossoms falling down at the two of them. "They are so beautiful", Ran commented, catching one of them in her open palm. "Yes, and they are so light that they can fly a few meters. That's why you thought they were pink butterflies when we were little. Let's meet at the butterfly tree, you would say to me and somehow I have to admit…" Shinichi touched the blossom in her hands with his fingertips, "they really feel like little animals." With little souls.

 _The end? Okay, this was quite a long chapter with a lot of symbolism in it. I hoped you liked it anyway =) . But there are still some mysteries left to be solved…for example: What Ran really wanted to say with those flowers and what was Shinichi's finally responding by giving white roses to her? And where is the second hint that even Shinichi didn't discover that lead to the conclusion who it could be… (it's quite tricky). I also wonder if Megure ever will find out who's the culprit in the bank raid case…_

 _And thanks a lot again for your nice reviews!_

*For everyone who doesn't know: Ran is the japanese word for Orchid =)


	4. Trust your heart

Hello! Finally I found the time to write on! But first I want to give some more information about the previous chapter and the flower quiz:

1.) The white roses Shinichi gave to Ran stand for young and innocent love. It shows affection, but also distance towards the receiver as the relationship is considered as something developing slowly. In another version of this chapter Shinichi cuts himself on the thorns and blood drips on the petals. That would be a prediction that their love takes a dramatic turn all of a sudden, but also turns into a more passionate one (red roses).

2.) The Sherlock Holmes case Shinichi was referring to at the beginning of chapter two was ""The Adventure of the Reigate Squire".

3.) Ran was telling Shinichi with the flowers that she's sorry about what happened and that Shinichi's is the one she needs to bee complete.

4.) The hint which was hidden and quite impossible to figure out was that there is a spelling mistake in the quiz which Ran sometimes does in her pronunciation (and without a "d")

And now, without any other interruptions, some more ShinRan love !

 _Chapter 4: Trust your heart_

„Shinchi, what happened to you? " Ran asked her friend as they were sitting together in history class while the weather outside was all hot and sunny.

It had been a regular boring Wednesday afternoon, but somehow the young detective felt didn't know why, but he had a premonition that something bad was going to happen today, something dangerous...Annoyed he rubbed his temples while his automatic warning system was running wild. The smiles of Ran and his classmates freaked him out, the singing of the birds, the peaceful atmosphere…his mind interpreted all that as the calm before a big storm, as a false image of happiness which could be destroyed easily within seconds. Had he forgotten about something important? Did something happen to his parents? Or…

"Ran, tell me, where are you going today after class?"

The girl looked confused as he had totally ignored her question, but in view of his stressed out state she didn't get angry.

"I'm going to karate lesson. We have a tournament next week, you know... But Shinichi, what happened to your hand?" His right wrist was wrapped up tightly in a bandage and as he wasn't writing anything down from the board, he didn't seem able to use it at all.

"It's just a little bruised from a …ahem…accident I had yesterday" he told her hoping she would be satisfied by this statement."An accident?" She scrutinized his face more attentive now to find out if he was lying to her.

"I…kinda slipped down some stairs…" he started smiling nervously at Ran, but soon his expression started to crumble under her unconvinced stare.

"Alright…don't you give me that look…" He made a pause, but his brain couldn't make out a believable excuse. "I really fell down the stairs…just maybe the criminal we were searching for pushed me a little…"

"WHAT!?" Ran couldn't believe what she was hearing and shocked as she was she hadn't realized how loud her voice had become."Ms. Mori, if you want to share whatever you two are discussing right now, I would be pleased if you could do it outside or after the lesson!"Mrs. Yamada said with a firm voice making the whole class stare at them. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again." Ran mumbled embarrassed and she wasn't the only one who felt his face heating up.

"Did you have to scream?" Shinichi argued blushing fiercely. "If you wouldn't have scared me like this, I wouldn't have had to scream!" she countered, her face a mix of worry and anger. Shinichi couldn't help but felt her eyes burning right into his soul connecting him with her even more than their previous gestures and actions had done. Being overwhelmed all suddenly by many different emotions, the boy looked away and so they kept silent for the rest of the lesson.

As the bell finally rang most of the students stormed out immediately to enjoy the perfect weather, but the two of them stayed for a moment, awkwardly sitting next to each other. Luckily, Ran was the one who managed to break the tension laying her hand gently on Shinichi's. "You know", she started blushing a bit "I do care about you, okay?" "I know", he answered. "So do I." She smiled at him, but he didn't smile back. Idiot! he scolded himself. Bad enough you're feeling down...no need to make Ran feel bad as well! Why the heck couldn't he just smile back? Ran absently stroke his hand while wondering what was wrong with her friend. Maybe he was just tired…

"All right Shinichi, I'm going to practice…see you later!" She packed her bag and headed to the door not realizing the distressed look on the boy's face at the sight of her leaving. You're paranoid, Shinichi tried to stop himself, she's going to be fine and you know it.

"Ran…" The girl turned around waiting for a comment to come. "Ran…can I come with you!?" At first she stared at him as if he was insane and oh my god, Shinichi couldn't blame her. Then suddenly she burst into laughter. "Oh my, you are strange sometimes, you know? Yesterday you told me that you haven't even started your English essay for tomorrow and now suddenly you have the time to go to karate training? No, no, my friend. You can't avoid your homework forever!" Shinichi finally managed to force out a little laugh and Ran waved him goodbye. After she left the young detective covered his face with his hands. Why did he have the strong urge to run after her? To not leave her side? Having no explanation he headed home, but his mind was somewhere else.

 **Two hours later, at the karate studio:**

"Bye Ran!"

"Bye Emiko!"

Ran happily said goodbye to her friends while putting on her jacket. Outside it had just started to rain and the wind was getting stronger. Too bad dad has a client and can't take me home, she thought as she stepped outside. The sky which had been blue all day was now coloured grey heavy clouds covering the sun completely. Fearing for a big storm to come Ran hurried to get home and she wasn't the only one: Everywhere people were running into their houses and soon the streets were nearly empty.

"Hey girl!" a seller who just had closed his spot called out. "Be careful! The news predicted a thunderstorm for tonight, but it seems to hit us more early! It's dangerous to be outside!" Ran nodded and continued her way as quickly as possible. As she finally reached the agency the first rumbles of thunder could be heard.

Breathless, she closed the door behind her. Finally save. "Dad I'm home!" she announced but got no answer. On the table she found a note: "I'm staying at a friend's house for tonight. Don't worry-I'll be back tomorrow morning." A little angry she pushed the note aside. Why didn't he mention that earlier? Ran let herself fall down on the sofa.

Suddenly a lightning bolt illuminated the room, followed by a violent clap of thunder causing the girl to flinch in fear. It's silly to be afraid, she tried to convince herself. But she couldn't help wishing for someone to be there. Her dad or…Shinichi who could always calm her down.

You're stupid, she thought, why didn't you accepted his offer before? Curling herself up on her seat she pulled out her cell phone. At least she could still call her friend…

 **Meanwhile, at the Kudo mansion:**

"We talk now to Mr. Tsubuyara, a specialist of our national weather agency. Mr. Tsubuyara, what's your opinion on the current situation?"

"It's unusual because meteorologists really underestimated the strength of the storm which is right now troubling Tokyo and its surroundings. In some areas the wind caused some pylons to break down and therefore we have a power cut in three…no wait four districts at the moment. This makes it even more difficult for the police to…"

"Damn it!" Shinichi screamed as he switched of the television and continued to walk up and down to the living room which was the only thing what prevented him from flipping out completely. It wasn't naturally for him to panic, but about Ran everything was always different.

What if she was still outside in the rain somewhere? His hands grabbed his hair in desperation.

*Ring**Ring* The sudden tune startled Shinichi, but within seconds he had grabbed his phone from the table. He had tried to call her several times, but got no answer. Was she finally calling him back?"Moshi, moshi?" Silence. Then some noise in the background. "Ran?" "Hel…Shini…" "RAN!?"

At last the connection broke down. "It can't be…" Shinichi mumbled dialing the number once more, but no success. Why did she call? Was she in trouble?

Cursing some more about girls, rain and English essays he picked up a jacket and headed to the door. He knew that it was crazy, but one minute more of inactivity might have been enough to finally drive him insane. Now the detective had one single aim: find Ran. Everything else was unimportant.

"Shinichi?" The boy turned around in alarm. Someone else had just arrived at his front door and despite of the umbrella in his hand he was already soaked.

"Professor Agasa? What are you doing here?"

"Funny question. I wanted to ask you the same thing. You can't really be serious about going out in that storm!" Maybe it would be better to lie, Shinichi thought, but he really hadn't got the time for long explanations. "I need to find Ran.", he answered instead trying to run away quickly before other questions could be asked. It was the best solution.

"AH! Let go, let go…!" Shinichi suddenly screamed out. His old friend had grabbed his wrist forcefully to prevent him from leaving, but unfortunately had squeezed at the boy's injury in progress. Stumbling Shinichi backed away clutching his hand to his chest while he felt tears forming in his eyes. It hurt badly, but he needed to hurry. "Shinichi, I'm so sorry…" "It's okay…it's okay", he said ignoring the professor's excuses. "See you later."

The other called after him, but Shinichi didn't listen. He started to run as fast as he could towards the agency while lightning bolts illuminated the sky. Soon he was soaked to the bone and the only person left in the streets. A lonely man running for his life.

Many street lamps weren't functioning properly and combined with the wind which was blowing violently into his face, it was getting hard to orientate, to keep his eyes open. Only two hundred meters away from his aim, it happened: He tripped on the wet floor, catching the fall with his hands.

But despite of his good reaction, Shinichi didn't get up. The pain which shot through his right hand was getting almost unbearable. Letting out one single sob, he tried to stand up, leaning all his weight on his left hand. Why did this have to happen when every minute, no every second counted? Shinichi's mind was spinning and as a result of his dizziness his foot slipped away, making him fall down again. He wanted to go on, but realized he just couldn't. Desperate, he sat there in the middle of the pavement, clothes all wet,shivering madly and waited . Ran is going to be okay, he tried to tell himself over and over again and finally, but very slowly the dizzy spell passed away. Another try followed and this time he came to his feet.

Running even faster now he reached the agency. Light was shining from the windows and although his mind was tired, he could still make out a person sitting in the room. Holding on to the wall of a building he let out a deep breath. It was Ran and she was save!

In this part of the city electricity was still available thanks to the functional pylons which were standing right in front of the house and were the highest objects to be seen. Suddenly something flashed before Shinichi's eyes like lightning in the dark, tormented sky. And in his imagination he saw what was about to happen, saw the windows of the agency burst into pieces and heard the girl's terrified scream.

 **Inside the Agency, just in that very moment:**

Ran Mouri didn't hear the steps coming up the stairs because of another ear-splitting clap of thunder which scared her just like the first one today. Some things, she thought, you never get used to.

"RAN!" a panicked voice was shouting followed by hard knocks on the door.

"Shinichi?"she asked completely dumfounded. "Yes! It's me! Open the door!"

Quickly she rose from the coach to unlock the door. And indeed, her childhood friend was standing right in front of her, panting, with soaked and dirty clothes and, to make matters worse, she swore that this was blood dripping from his hands.

"Shinichi, what…what happened to you!?", she stuttered, but the boy just grabbed her arms and pulled her down the stairs of house.

"Where are we going?" she tried again, but was ignored like the first time. Ran realized how pale her friend seemed. Did something terrible happen to someone? Outside Shinichi pushed her towards the entrance area of the neighboured building, than pulled her close to his chest as if they had just escaped from a deadly situation.

"Shinichi…what's wrong?" she whispered feeling him shivering close to her body. Had he been running all the way to her in that horrible weather?Gently she touched his arm."You are cold as ice, Shinichi. Please, let's go inside and get you warm, okay?"

The boy shook his head violently while his eyes were still fixing the window of her home like he expected something to explode or..."Wha…-?" A bright light suddendly blinded her and seconds later she heard an enormous bang somewhere close. Ran pressed her head against Shinichi's chest as the noise of shattering glass filled the night with unexpected force. Then some people started to scream.

"Shinichi? What …was that!?" she whispered, but after turning towards the street, she saw it herself. A lightning bolt had hit one of the big trees in front of her house which than had crushed right into a pylon. Unable to balance the new weight, the metal construction had been broken down, crushing right into the windows of the agency on its way of destruction. It was just horrible. Shivering now herself Ran started to cry while Shinichi still held her tight, a few tears escaping the saviour's eyes as well. Her distress touched his soul, but the relief of her being okay was stronger than the pain. She made him feel stronger all the time.

 **At the Kudo mansion, shortly after the accident:**

"Thank you again so much professor Agasa for bringing us here!" Ran said shaking the professor's hand one more time.

Minutes after the accident their old friend had arrived with his car to look for Shinichi. Learning about the situation, he then had driven them home and also informed her father.

"Don't worry Ran. The rescue workers will take care of everything and most important: you two are okay. You're staying over her for tonight?" She nodded. "That's good. Please take care of Shinichi for me for a while… later I will come to look after you, all right?"

Ran gave the professor a warm- hearted smile: "Of course I will. Goodbye!"

Entering the living room she found Shinichi sitting on the sofa. A shirt was pulled half a way over his body, but his eyes were closed in pain.

"Shinichi…", she quickly approached him and rested a hand on his leg. "…show me your hand." He lifted his palm and laid it on her lap while carefully trying to get his shirt all over his torso. She would have blushed at the sight of Shinichi's half naked body, but she was way too preoccupied with the blood still dripping from his fingers.

"Did you take a shower like I told you?" The boy nodded weakly not opening his eyes at all. What can I do? she thought desperate to soothe him somehow.

She decided that the wounds on his arms and hands needed some cleaning before they could be bandaged again and luckily she found the necessary items in the bathroom. "That might hurt", she announced gently laying her fingers on Shinichi's wrist.

"You really saved my life today." she continued while treating her friend's injuries as carefully as she could manage. It worked fine at first, but then Shinichi started to flinch under her touch. "I'm sorry.", Ran repeated over and over feeling bad to cause him pain. "It's okay" the boy said, but as she finally bandaged his right hand again, he couldn't help moaning out loud.

"God, that hurts", he breathed out leaning his head against Ran's shoulder. "Come here" she said a bit awkwardly stroking her hand through his hair. "You're the best Shinichi, you now that?" He made a agreeing sound which made her chuckle. "You're so strong and brave…how did you even now I was in danger?" she wondered.

Shinichi smiled at her enjoying her presence. "I don't know. I just did…" And I felt it deep in my heart, he added in thought, but Ran could easily read his mind.

Giving him a light kiss on the temple she stood up. "I'm making something to eat, okay?" "Y-yeah…", Shinichi mumbled pleasantly surprised by her actions. Maybe this day wasn't the worst ever…

Half an hour later Ran brought him some soup sitting next to him with a spoon in her hand.

"Thanks.", he said gladly, but soon realized that something was up.

"Aren't you handing me the spoon, Ran?" She grinned widely and put some soup on it. "Open your mouth!" "No…no way you're feeding me!"

The young detective blushed deeply at the thought of been treated like that. "I'm not a little child!"

But his arguments were useless against her will. She was enjoying this way too much and finally he gave into her. Feeling warm and comfortable after eating the soup he leaned into her embrace once more thanking her silently for her caring.

"I'm glad I could help", she said smiling. "And I'm sorry I couldn't protect you then." Shinichi who was already drifting off to sleep laughed at this. "Don't ever say that. " He put his arms around her. "As long as you're save, I am too. Just never leave…"

The next morning he didn't remember what else he said that night. But it stayed true anyway.

And we all know, there's only one truth. =)


End file.
